Detachable heel lift for shoes



June 19, 1934. s, AMANTEA DETAGHABLE HEEL LIFT FOR SHOES Filed Aug. 18,1932 f/vvE/vrm? SAMUEL AMANTEA Patented June 19, 1934 i em-e PATENT. 1 x

I 1,963,641 DETACHABLE HEEL LIFT FOR snons e Samuel Amantea, NiagaraFalls, N. Y. 7 Application August, 1932, Serial No. $29,302

My invention relates'in general toir'nprove ments in detachable heelsfor shoes and boots, and particularly toa detachable lift for suchheels.

' The principal object'of my invention has been to provide a detachableheel lift with fastening means which shall accurately register the liftwith the heeland securely hold it in place.

Moreover, the fastening means of my invention are so arranged that the'coacting parts are m brought into engagement by lateral movementwhereby the lift will not become dislodged or loosenedby striking theheel at either the front or back. i

Another object hasbeen to provide a fastening means so designed thatthe-portion secured to the heel shall be relatively inexpensive, wherebywhen a worn lift is discarded, the portion of the fastening meanssecured to it may also be discarded without any appreciable loss.

29 Furthermore, my invention is very simple in design and may beinexpensively manufactured. Characteristic of heels of this kind, thelifts may be made interchangeable so that various kinds of heels may beattached by the wearer or by a shoemaker.

The above objects and advantages have been accomplished by the deviceshown in the accompanying drawing, of which:

Fig. 1 is a slightly enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view of a heelprovided with my invention,

showing the top lift attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the heel of the shoe with the liftremoved.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the lift removed from the heel.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional View of the fasteningmeans of my device.

In the drawing, I have shown my invention as applied to a womans shoe,but obviously the invention is applicable to mens shoes as well. As

shown in the drawing, 5 represents the heel of the shoe and 6 the bottomlift thereof. The fastening means of my invention comprise a heel plate10 and a lift plate 11 secured respectively to the heel 5 of the shoeand to the lift 6 thereof. These plates are, respectively, so arrangedon the heel and lift that a line drawn centrally between their oppositesurfaces will be substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axisof the shoe.

The heel plate 10 is provided in one of its side edges with a cut-outportion, bounded by inclined edges 12 and 13. An edge 14 connects theseinclined edges at the rear. Arranged over the 5-3-heel plate and ininterspaced relation therewith is aheel plate yoke 15. This yoke isprovided with tabs 16 which are passed through slots 17 formedpreferably at two opposite points in the heel plate 10 and which lie inrecesses 18 formed by the bent portions 19 of the heel plate. All parts,therefore, at the bottom surface 20 of the heel plate are flush andsmooth. The heel plate yoke 15 is provided with a centrally'arranged.cylindrical sleeve 21 which carries a bullet fastener 22. This fasteneris of the well known type having a flange 23 near the outside end of itsbody and with a springpressed ball 24. The parts are so assembled thatthe flange 23 of the fastener Willbflbicated on the underside of theyoke 15. The heel plate 10 is, of course, provided'with' suitable nailholes '25 whereby the plate'with the bullet fastener may be securelyheld to the heel 5 ofjthe shoe. The heel 5 is, of course, boredan'dcoun' terbored for the reception of the bullet fastener and the yoke15 and projecting parts 19 of the heel plate 10.

The lift plate 11 which is secured to the lift 6 is provided with acentral guiding portion 30 which is bounded by inclined surfaces 31which contact with and engage the inclined edges 12 and 13 of the heelplate 10. When the lift plate V11 is in proper position, the coactingsurfaces of the two portions of the fastening means will be snuglyengaged. So as to hold the lift in place onto the heel, the lift plateis provided with an overhanging or clamping flange 32 which overhangsthe edges 31 and which engages with the top surfaces'of the heel plateadjacent the edges 12, 13 and 14, the material of the heel 5 being Cllllaway as shown in Fig. 2 by the dotted lines so as to accommodate theflange 32. The flange 32 is preferably rounded on the forward edge andsomewhat flared away from the surfaces 31 of the central or guidingportion so that the lift plate 11 may be more conveniently engaged withthe heel plate when assembling the device. The lift plate 11 is formedwith a semi-spherical depression 33 at the point immediately under theball 24 when the parts are in their finally assembled positions, forengagement with the ball when in such positions. Suitable holes 34 areprovided in the lift plate 11 for the passage of tacks, screws, orrivets for fastening the plate to the bottom lift.

When it is desired to attach a top lift to a heel with my invention, itis only necessary to engage the flange 32 with-the heel plate, passingthe flange along the upper surface of the heel plate a and pushing thesame laterally of the heel or in 1T0 a direction substantially at rightangles to the longitudinal axis of the shoe until the springpressed ball24 of the bullet fastener snaps into the semi-spherical recess 33 of thelift plate. The parts of the invention are, of course, accurately andcarefully made so that the fit between them is more or less snug,whereby the parts will be held together by friction as well as by theball 24 when in engagement with the recess 33. When it is desired tochange a lift or to replace it by a new one, it is only necessary thatthe lift be pushed laterally of the heel in the direction opposite tothe direction of movement when assembling, whereby the ball 24 will beforced up into the body of the fastener 22, thus becoming disengagedfrom the recess 33 and permitting the disengagement of the lift platefrom the heel plate.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that the least expensive part ofmy invention is that portion which is secured to the bottom lift so thatit may be discarded with the worn heel, since its cost is practicallynegligible.

While I have shown my invention as applied to a detachable lift, it isobvious that the same fastening means may be used to apply the entireheel to a shoe. In such a case it would be preferable to reverse theportions of thefastening means and to secure the lift plate to thebottom of the shoe and to insert the heel plate in the top of the heel.

These and other modifications of the details herein shown and describedmay be made Without departing from the spirit of my invention or thescope of the appended claims, and I do not, therefore, wish to belimited to the exact embodiment herein shown and described, the formshown being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A detachable heel lift construction for shoes comprising a heel platesecured to a portion of the heel and a lift plate secured to theengaging portion of the lift, the plates having tapered engagingsurfaces so arranged that a line drawn centrally between the oppositetapered surfaces of each plate will be substantially at right angles tothe longitudinal axis of the shoe thereby preventing accidentaldislocation of the heel, and a spring-pressed ball carried by one of theplates and engaging a recess in the interengaging plate, whereby theheel can be removed in one lateral direction only without the use oftools.

2. A detachable heel lift construction for shoes comprising a heel platesecured to a portion of the heel and a lift plate secured to theengaging portion of the lift, the heel plate having a tapered opening, ayoke carried by the plate and in interspaced relation therewith, abullet fastener carried by the yoke and having its spring-pressed balldisposed in the tapered opening, the lift plate being formed with acentral guiding portion for engagement with the tapered opening of theheel plate and with a recess for engagement with the spring-pressed ballwhen the portions are in their fully assembled positions, the taperedopening of the heel plate and the coacting guiding portion of the liftplate being so arranged that a line drawn centrally between the oppositetapered surfaces of the said opening and said portion will besubstantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the shoethereby preventing accidental dislocation of the heel, and a clampingflange formed on the lift plate and arranged above the central guidingportion thereof.

SAMUEL AMANTEA.

ESQ

